Investiture Traditions

President Tripathi and his colleagues wear academic regalia
symbolic of their advanced degrees and where they obtained them. A
silver mace tells UB’s story with special design and
engraving, and the president is invested with a silver medallion
emblematic of his office.

The UB Mace

The UB mace is designed to tell the story of UB and the
Niagara Frontier. Fashioned by silversmith Hudson Roysher of
Arcadia, Calif., it was used for the first time in 1962. Engraved
atop a miniature walled structure representing the City of Buffalo
are three arrows bound together, symbolizing the unity of UB and
the city.

Other details include symbolic representations of the discovery
of Lake Erie in 1669 by Joliet and early explorations by LaSalle. A
crest symbolizes UB’s role as a dynamic center of human
growth and welfare. The motto “University and City
Community” is lettered in Latin around the knob of the
shaft.

Academic Regalia

Academic attire or regalia has its roots in the
universities of the Middle Ages and is most colorful at major
academic events such as a presidential investiture ceremony.
Traditionally, the university president and his academic colleagues
who are part of the platform party, or who are marching in the
processional and recessional, wear robes that symbolize their
advanced degrees and the institutions around the country and world
where they studied and began their scholarly careers.

Presidential Medallion

At the moment during the ceremony when Satish K. Tripathi is
formally invested with the presidency, he dons the silver
medallion bearing the seal or emblem of his office. He will
subsequently wear the medallion on official university occasions
such as commencement, or at academic convocations or other
ceremonial events.